Pirates of the, Er, Something
by Ham-n-Eggs
Summary: It's a few weeks before Elizabeth and Will's wedding...but SOMETHING is going wrong...


But how can you know what you want  
  
Till you get what you want  
  
And you see if you like it?  
  
~"A Very Nice Prince" from Into the Woods  
  
The day was getting closer every day for the big wedding, and Elizabeth was scared. Yes, that's right, scared! She was the one getting married, and that, her cynical housekeeper Rose had told her often enough, was cause enough for fear. But that wasn't it. Elizabeth wasn't afraid at all of the FACT of getting married. She was more than prepared for that. It was... it was Will.  
  
Will Turner, the blacksmith whom she had loved ever since she first saved his life and heard him gasp out in that horribly raspy voice, "WILL TURNER," had somehow lost her heart.  
  
Not that she could admit this to everyone- not after years and years of scheming to marry Will. But now that it was set in stone, she was beginning to have her doubts. Horribly raspy? she thought. A few months ago, I would never have referred to his voice as "horribly raspy." Certainly it's not raspy anymore. It's smooth and silky and wonderfully boring and- Oh, no! I'm doing it again!  
  
She turned over and gazed at the portrait of Will she had ordered painted and hung on her wall. Now that was more like it. She sighed deeply as her eyes roved over every inch of Will's face. His gorgeous hair hanging to his shoulders in the style of a rogue, his puppy dog eyes fixed solemnly on some spot in the distance, his mouth set in the no-nonsense "I'm too cool to have facial expressions" look that she'd loved in him ever since she met him. Why, she'd only seen him smile once or twice! That kind of gravity was just what she needed to keep her from getting too flighty. Yes, she reminded herself, she was very glad that she had finally won this blacksmith bore...  
  
She jumped up and shook her head violently. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! she screamed in her head. He is NOT boring. He is marvelous!  
  
For extra effort she added an extra "No" out loud, after which there was a short silence and then her father's bewildered voice from outside the door: "No?"  
  
Oh, dear, she thought, standing and calling out, "I am sorry, I mean, yes, Father, you can enter."  
  
Her father entered. Oh, my, she thought. His hair is getting bigger by the day. I think he must be wearing two wigs now, one piled on top of the other. "Good morning, Father," she said aloud, giving him a kiss on the cheek and struggling to pull her thoughts together.  
  
"Only two weeks until the big event," Governor Swann teased, "I suppose I shouldn't be too harsh on you for daydreaming and forgetting your father."  
  
She smiled and looked down at the ground, remaining silent. She knew exactly what her father was thinking- that she had been daydreaming about the big day. But (as you readers all know, of course) she had actually been trying to convince herself that she was still in love with Will. If her father knew that, he would get that, "Oh, dear, my daughter's being odd again" look on his face. She hated seeing that look. She so badly wanted to be the daughter he wanted her to be, so she made compromises on her side and he made compromises on his. He allowed her to marry a blacksmith and she was content to marry a blacksmith instead of going off after a dashing pirate-  
  
Oh, my. Whatever brought THAT thought into my head? she thought in surprise. Pirates weren't dashing, they were...well, they were unreliable and untrustworthy. Always wanting to run off to sea or some such thing. Although I would love to go to sea again... No! No, she must put that thought firmly out of her head and focus on the topic at hand.  
  
"Was there something specific you wanted to see me about, Father?" she asked.  
  
"Does a father need an occasion to dote upon his daughter?" he responded with that innocent look.  
  
She smiled briefly, but then persisted. "Father, you say that every time you have an ulterior motive. What is it this time? What do you want?"  
  
He frowned. "Well, er, I, er..."  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Will has just..." He sighed. "He has left the blacksmith shop."  
  
Elizabeth's jaw dropped. "He WHAT?"  
  
"He swears he won't work there ever again."  
  
"But why not? How does he ever expect to support me if he-"  
  
Governor Swann laughed heartily. "Support you? Oh, don't be silly, Elizabeth. He could never have supported you anyway, not with the salary that blacksmith paid him. I never assumed for a minute that he would have supported you with his own money. You would each have an allowance of my money, of course."  
  
"Er... excuse me?" Elizabeth could hardly believe her ears. "And I suppose we would have lived here in your house with you, too, and not have had ANY freedom!"  
  
Governor Swann didn't laugh this time, merely blinked at his daughter. "Elizabeth. Don't be ridiculous. He doesn't even have a proper house, only a tiny cottage behind the blacksmith shop. You couldn't possibly live there. You'd soil every dress you had just walking across the room."  
  
"Father. I have spent the last year being alternately kidnapped by pirates and marooned on desert beaches. I think I could handle a bit of dirt."  
  
Her father waved his hand. "Out of the question. But anyway, that isn't what I'm discussing with you now. The problem is, it should have LOOKED like he was at least TRYING to support you. But now that he's officially out of the blacksmith business, people will know he's only... well, only..."  
  
"Sponging off of you?"  
  
He frowned. "Well, I don't like to put it so bluntly, but yes. Please have a talk with him. Maybe Mr. Brown will take him back if he offers to take a reduction in salary." He looked his daughter in the eyes. "Will you ask him?"  
  
"Mr. Brown or Will?" she asked. She knew which one her father meant but this had irritated her and she liked nit-picking. It was one of the things he hated the most.  
  
"Will, of course!" he said with a frown. "Don't be silly."  
  
She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Fine. I will." And she'd also have a talk with him about this plan of living with her father in the house she grew up in. Would she ever have a chance to get away from the little town she was in without being kidnapped?  
  
"Thank you." He turned and walked to the door. "I shall send a message saying you wish to see him - when, this evening?"  
  
"He and I are going to have dinner at his mother's house, actually," she said. "She lives in the country. We thought we'd go for a drive and spend the evening there." Seeing her father's look of disapproval, she added, "Don't worry. His mother is quite respectable, and we're bringing John along to drive the carriage." She smiled, knowing her father was still a bit perturbed. "We won't do anything TOO improper."  
  
Although, as she said that, she realized with rather a sinking feeling that Will probably wouldn't do anything improper anyway. Or, if he did, he'd get in trouble for it. He was the kind of person who always did get into trouble for the bad things they did. Not like a pirate. Why, a pirate could-  
  
She shook her head quickly and hit herself on the forehead, hoping to get those thoughts out of her mind. What WAS going on inside her head?  
  
"Elizabeth?" Governor Swann frowned. "Are you all right?"  
  
"Oh, I'm fine- fine! I...thought I had a fly on my head, that's all. Yes, I shall speak to Will tonight about the matter, and I hope it can all be resolved to everyone's satisfaction." Including mine, she thought.  
  
Governor Swann smiled. "Ah, splendid. Then I shall see you later."  
  
He left the room and Elizabeth sank back down on the bed. Then, again, she turned and looked at the portrait. Let's try this again, she thought. Gorgeous hair...Puppy dog eyes... 


End file.
